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June 06, 2013

Rethink Cloud Security to get Ahead of the Risk Curve
Ever since the cloud sprung up to the top of every IT discussion, the issue of cloud security was right alongside it. Let’s face it, enterprise security has never been easy, and the rapidly expanding use of software in the cloud has added layers of complexity – and risk – to the job. More valuable intellectual property, personally identifiable information, medical records and customer data now sit in the cloud. Risk should not prevent this, but it’s a risk that needs to be managed.

Tactical and strategic health care CIO drives through industry turmoil
Finalist Deanna Wise is CIO and executive vice president at San Francisco-based Dignity Health, the nation's fifth largest health system with 40 acute care hospitals and more than 150 ancillary care sites. A model example of a tactical and strategic CIO, she has led IT and Dignity Health through a period of rapid change by striking an impressive balance between delivering consistent, reliable IT services and breaking new technology ground.

Bank of America CIO on Big Data, Emerging Enterprise Tech
Rather than Big Data, she would prefer to just use the term "data." Despite the overhyping and haziness of the phrase, Big Data is important to $2.2 trillion-asset Bank of America, which has been using data analysis to examine customers' branch visits, calls to the call center, chat sessions, and online banking sessions to get a full view of customer behavior.

Queensland's open data push goes 'global'
Essentially, Queensland Globe is a free application that lets users apply state government data to Google Earth satellite images. Some of the data sets integrated carry information about land tenure status, property and electoral boundaries, and areas affected by floods. But the Premier said the program also included topographical maps and aerial photography that was “a step above” Google Earth.

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge
In The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge, originally published in the October 1939 issue of Harper’s, American educator Abraham Flexner explores this dangerous tendency to forgo pure curiosity in favor of pragmatism — in science, in education, and in human thought at large — to deliver a poignant critique of the motives encouraged in young minds, contrasting those with the drivers that motivated some of history’s most landmark discoveries.

Cisco Betters its Best-Selling Catalyst Ethernet Switch
Per-port power consumption on the Catalyst 2960-X is 0.9 watts, vs. 2 watts on the 2960-S/SF. Energy efficiency is achieved through support of the IEEE's Energy Efficient Ethernet standard, as well as Cisco's own EnergyWise software. The switches can engage in two modes of "hibernation" during downtime: downlink mode, which powers down less active links; and switch mode, which powers down the switch itself.

Businesses ignore early warning signs of hacking: NAB
There is enough information for organisations to be able to determine whether a form, which could take a user a few seconds to fill out, is actually being submitted in a fraction of a second. Similarly, given that the information submitted in a query should match the form's elements, including their order, any variance to these could give organisations an early warning that someone is planning an attack or performing reconnaissance on their systems.

Microsoft, FBI crack cybercrime ring
"The harm done by Citadel shows the threat that botnets, malicious software, and piracy pose to individuals and businesses around the world," said Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel and executive vice president, Legal and Corporate Affairs. "Today's coordinated action between the private sector and law enforcement demonstrates the power of combined legal and technical expertise and we're going to continue to work together to help put these cybercriminals out of business."

100 Columns and Counting: Gary Cokins on His Life in Analytics"My observation is that although it is ideal to have executive sponsorship for new projects and methods, often executives are distracted with fire-fighting and short-term priorities. I enjoy empowering champions who want to improve their organizations. I have seen the successful outcome of EPM systems I have helped implement with substantial tangible results. I get pleasure knowing I made an impact. "

IPv6 in action: How Mythic Beasts does itRFC1883, the document that describes IPv6, was written in 1995. It was the next big thing on the Internet. Google records how many IPv6 requests come in and last year the total reached the dizzying heights of 1%! After most of two decades, one in a hundred Google requests are not IPv4. You couldn’t really say IPv6 is taking off like a rocket. That’s all going to change in the next few years. Cisco reckon IPv6 takeup will hit 23.9% in 2017.

Quote for the day:"Everything's in the mind. That's where it all starts. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it." -- Mae West